Track-layer



(No Model.) 4 sheets-'sheet 1.

S. W. ROBERTS 8v E. P. CALDWELL.

l TRACK LAYER. l 010.400.050. Patented Apr. 0, 1889.v

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S.. W. ROBERTS 8v E. P. CALDWELL.

TRACK LAYER. No. 400,050. Patented Apr. 0, 1889.

(No Model.)

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W. L OBLRYTSL L. P. CALDWELL.

TRACK LAYER. No. 400,950. Patented Apr. 9, 1889.

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S. W. ROBERTS &,`E. P.l CALDWELL.

4 TRACK LAYER. N0. 400,950. l Patented Apr. 9, 1889.

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UNITED STATES SOLOMON WV. ROBERTS AND PATENT OFFICE.

EDVARD P. CALDWELL, OF MINNEAPOLIS,"

MINNESOTA.

TRACK-LAYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,950, dated April 9,1889.

Application filed March 5, 1888. Serial No. 266,242. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, SOLOMON WV. ROBERTS and EDWARD P. CALDWELL, ofMinneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, haveinvented certain Improvements in Track-Layers, of which the following`is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in a device for laying thesections of railroadtracks, and the object'we have in view is to providea machine in which the rails and crossties will be brought together intheir proper relative position and spiked or fastened to each other,forming a section of track. The section thus formed is then carriedforward and deposited upon the track-bed complete and ready for useafter being joined or splifel to the section previously laid.

Our invention consists, generally, in the combination and arrangementhereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure l is aplan view of our improved trackelaying machine. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail showing more clearly theoperation of the truck f or conveying forward the complete sections.Fig. t is a cross-section of one of the cars, showing the arrangementfor conveying forward the rails and ties. Fig. 5 is a detail of theconveying-track for the rails, showing the manner of connecting themtogether between the cars. Fig. G is afront elevation of the machine.Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a portion of the machine, showing themeans for carrying forward the sections of track and depositing themupon the ground. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a portion of the machine,showing the means for carrying forward the ties and rails. Figs. 9 and10 are details of the spiker. Fig. ll is a partial plan view of themachine.

In the drawings, 2 represents a portion of a car of ordinaryconstruction for carrying the rails used in laying the track.

3 represents a platform or car arranged to be coupled in advance of thecar 2. This car is-mounted on suitable trucks and properly braced andtrnssed to support the weight of the mechanism comprising ourinvention.`

Upon the rear of this car, and upon the car 2, we prefer to placestandards 4, which support the hollow tracks or carriers These tracksare preferably constructed in cross-section, as shown in Fig'. 4, in theform of a letter C, and receive the rolls or sheaves 8, which travellongitudinally in said track and form trolleys or carriages, which are`provided with the grippers or tongs l0, which receive the rail` betransferred to theinn er track, and thus re'- turned to the rear.

The standards 4 may be removably attached to the car, and maybeconstructed in any convenient form, and we do not confine ourselves f tothe form of the track 6, as vany other suitable construction may be usedwithout departing from our invention.

Any number of cars may be attached in the train and provided with thecarriers for transferring the rails, so that the last car can beunloaded as easily as the iirst, and we thus obviate the necessity ofremoving the front cars from the track as soon as they are unloaded. Atthe point where the cars are coupled together we prefer to taper theends of the track, so arranging them that one end will slide inside ofthe other, as shown in Fig. 5. Other suitable means may, however, beused for coupling the tracks together, in order to furnish a continuoustrack between the cars. Ve prefer to place a conveyer-boX at the side ofthe car 2, preferably provided with rolls 14, arranged crosswise of thesaid boX.

The cross-ties to be used in the construction of the track are conveyedforward over the rolls 14. At the rear of the car 3 and in line with theoonveyer-box a turn-table, 16, is placed. This turn-table receives thecrossties from the conveyer, and by it they are turned so as to liecrosswise of the said car. Feed-irolls 1S may be arranged on the car toreceive the cross-ties from the turn-table and carry them to theirproper position in the center of the said car. A stop or bumper, 17, maybe located at this point, against which the ends of the cross-tiesstrike to limit their movement and hold them in position until removedby the longitudinal carriers. An engine, 20, maybe located upon this carfor the purpose of driving the necessary machinery. Two or more endlesschains or conveyers, E22, extend over suitable sprockets, 24, at or nearthe front and rear of the car These chains receive the cross-ties fromthe rolls 1S and carry them forward. The conveyor for the first portionof its length is preferably arranged on an incline, so that the ties aremoved upward against the under side of the rails, where they are inposition to be spiked.

A supporting-timber, 27, may be arranged beneath the upper strands ofthe chain 22, upon which the said chain travels, and by which it is keptin line and prevented from sagging as the weight is brought upon it.Suitable friction-rolls may be placed upon the upper surface of thistimber to allow an easier movement of the chain. The tracks (5, on whichthese rails are transferred, are set at the required distance apart tosuit the gage of the road, so that when the rails are delivered from thecarriers to the cross-ties they are in their proper relative position.The cross-ties are properly spaced upon the endless chain 22, and thusbrought in contact with the under side of the rails. At this point weprefer to place a spiker, 30, which is operated in any convenient mannerto drive the spikes into the cross-ties and securely fasten the rail tothe said cross-ties. Any suitable device may be used for spiking therails to the ties, or they may be spiked by hand. In Figs. 0 and 10 wehave shown a device which may be used for this purpose. It consists,essentially, of a plunger, 3l, operated by an eccentric, 33, that isdriven by suitable mechanism and causes the plunger to have areciprocating motion. To do not, however, claim herein the constructionof the spiking' mechanism, as we have claimed the same in a separateapplication for Letters Patent.

' rlhe endless chain 29 feeds the cross-ties and rails along after theyare fastened together.

A mast or upright frame, 32, is placed at the front of the car 3, towhich it is attached at each side of the track. An overhanging frame,34, projects in front of the car 3, and is supported by the truss-rods3G, which extend from the said projecting frame over the mast anddownward and are anchored to the platform of the car. The frame 34 isprovided with suitable tracks, which carry two or more trucks, 35,1501'transferring the said sections and cross-ties from the endless chain andde positing them in line upon the ground.

suitable link-belt or endless chain, 38, is provided with sprockets Llland located at each side of the truck S5, and the said truck is securedto the belt by a flexible connection, 39. The truck-frameis made of anysuitable form supported upon wheels 40, which are arranged to travelupon a track, 4:3, formed upon the projecting frame 3l. The connection39 between the truck and link-belt is of sufficient length to allow thetruck to be drawn by the said belt nearly to the end of the frame, whenthe connection 39, being attached to one oi' the links of the chain 38,will pass around the sprocket 4l and draw the truck in the oppositedirection.

lVhcn more than one truck is in use upon the same belt, it is desirableto provide means for the said trucks passing each other, which we do asfollows: A track, 44, is arranged over the track 43, with sufficientdistance vertically between 'the two to allow the wheels of the truck topass freely. At the front a drop-switch, 45, is placed, as shown indetail in Fig. 3, which is so arranged that the truck in passing out onthe track 43 will raise the said switch and pass under it. As soon asthe last wheel of the truck has passed the switch it will drop, and whenthe motion ol' the truck. is reversed the wheels will be drawn upward onthe incline of this switch and carried onto the upper track, At therear, in order to provide means for bringing the truck back to the tracki3, we prefer to provide a pivoted rail, it), supported upon thestandard 5l, upon which it is al lowed t0 swing. One end of this railrests` upon the support and forms a continuation of the track il. Theopposite or overhan ging end of the said rail is preferably providedwith the proj eetion 47 upon its upper surface, against which the truck-wheel strikes to quickly depress the free end of the rail. A bar, if),is preferably hinged to the support 52, and is held against theunderside of the pivoted rail 46 by means of a spring, 50, suitablyarranged to overcome the weight of the said bar and hold it in ahorizontal position, except when depresscd by the truck-wheel. As thetruck. is drawn back on the track il, the wheels in advance strike theprojection 47,

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andthe weight of the truck causes the pivoted rail 4:6 to assume theposition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2l, and these advance wheels passdown the incline formed by the rail onto the track The back wheels willpass under the rail l-G and be received by the bar ylfhwhich will bedepressed, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and allow the said wheelsto follow down the incline formed by this bar and pass onto the tracki3. As soon as the wheels of the truck have left the rail 40' and thebar 4:9 they are caused to assume their original horizontal position andthc tru ek is allowed to pass forward under them on the lower track,4-2'3. The trucks receive their load from the endless chains 22, and asa section (comprising the two rails and a suitable number of cross-ties)is completed it is passed forward by the convcyer-chains 22 and over thefront end of the car 3. At this point one of the trucks 35 is brought inposition over the said section and attached thereto by suitable clampsand cables upon the truck. The section may now be raised free from theconveyer-chains, and the truck 35 drawn by the chains 38 will carry thesection forward to the end of the frame 34. After the rear of thesection has been carried clear of the front of the car 3 the section canbe lowered, so that by the time the truck has -reached its forward limitthe section will rest upon the ground and the carriage will be at rest,while the flexible connection 29 is carried around the sprocket, whichwill give time to detach the section, and a continuous motion of theconveyer-chains may be kept up.

Ve do not confine ourselves to the continu- .ous action of the machine,as either of the conveyer-chains may be stopped by throwing out of gearmechanism by which they are driven.

We claim as our inventionl. The combination, in atrack-layer, ofcarriers for moving forward the rails at the required gage for thetrack, means for introducing the ties beneath the rails, and a conveyerfor moving forward the ties and bringing them against the under surfacesof the rails, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a track-layer, of carriers for moving forward therails, a transverse conveyer for moving the ties beneath the rails, anda conveyer arranged upon an incline for a portion of its length andadapted to carry the ties against the under surface of the rails,y andthen to move forward the ties and rails together, during which latteroperationl they may be spiked together.

3. The combination, in a track-layer, of a car or platform, a conveyertraveling longitudinally on said platform, upon which the cross-ties aredistributed and by which they are carried forward, andl suitablecarriers delivering the rails atthe required gage upon the cross-tieswhile said ties are upon the con.- veyer, substantially as described.

4. The combination, in a track-layer, of a car or platform, a conveyertraveling longitudinally of said platform, upon which the cross-ties aredistributed and by which they are carried forward, suitable carriersdelivering the rails at the required gage upon the cross-ties while thesaid ties are on the conveyer, and a spiker for fastening the rails tothe cross-ties as they are brought in contact,

as described.

5. The combination, in a track-layer, of a car, a conveyer travelinglongitudinally of said car for distributing the ties, carriersdelivering the rails upon said ties while said ties are upon theconveyer, the projecting or overhanging frame secured to the car andprovided with a track or tramway, andatruck traveling on said track andadapted to receive the completed sections from t-he conveyer and deliverthem upon the road,bed,

substantially as described.

6. The combination, in a track-layenof a car, a frame supported uponsaid car and projecting longitudinally in front thereof, trucks arrangedto travel on said frame, a suitable track, 43, on which the trucks aredrawn in one direction, and the stationary track 44, arranged over saidtrack 43, and provided with switches 45 and 47 for transferring thetrucks from one track to the other, substantially as described.

7. The combination, in a track-layer, of the track 43, the track 44,arranged above said track 43, and provided with the switches 45k and 47,the driving-chain 38, and the carriage 35, arranged to be moved forwardon the lower track and to be returned Aupon the upper track,substantially as described.

8. The combination, in a track-layer, with the track 43 and the track44, arranged above the track 43, of the carriage 35, arranged to travelon either of said tracks, and the driving-chain 38, connected to saidcarriage, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the track 43, of the track 44, arranged abovesaid track 43, the switch 45, pivoted in line with the track 44 andadapted to rest on said track 43, the carriage 35, arranged to travelover said tracks, the endless drivin g-chain 38, the sprockets 4l, andthe connecting-chain 39 between said chain 38 and said carriage andadapted to pass around said sprockets, for the purpose set forth.

10. The combination, with the tracks 43 and 44, arranged one above theother, of the automatic switches 45 and 47 arranged at the ends of saidupper track, the carriage and the endless driving-chain connectedtherewith, whereby said carriage may be moved over said tracks andautomatically transferred from one to the other, substantially asdescribed. j

ll. The combination, with the car 2, of the IOO IIO

tracks 6, extending over said car, and the carriages 8, arranged totravel on saidy tracks and hold the rails, substantially as described.

l2. The combination, with the car 2, of the, Y

tracks 6, extending forward and back over said car and provided with thecurved portion connecting its forward ends, and the carriage 8, arrangedto travel on said tracks and provided with the grippers l0, adapted tohold the rails, substantially as described.

13. The combination, in a track-layer, with the cars 2 and 3, of thetracks 6, extending forward over said car 2, and provided with thecarriages 8, adapted to support and carry the rails, the conveyer 22,arranged upon said car 3, and adapted to move forward the cross-ties anddistribute them beneath the rails as lthey are moved forward by the car--v riages 8, a spiker, 30, arranged upon the car 3 and adapted to spikethefrails and ties together, the projecting frame 34, supported Intestimony whereof we have hereunto set upon the forward end of said em*3, and the our hands this 29th day of February, 1888. carriages 35,arranged upon said frame and SOLOMON XV. ROBERTS. adapted to take thecompleted sections of EDVVARI) P. OALDVVELL track from saidconveyer-frame 9 and move In presence ofthem forward and deposit themupon the A. M.. GASKELL, road-bed, Substantially as described. A. C.PAUL.

